The community forum is a place for sharing community items and benefiting the community. Look inside to see different threads with ideas for bettering the community and helping fellow community reefers!

The idea of this thread is to establish a central location within MARS where people can announce/organize volunteering opportunities.

Goals of this thread:

- To provide members a place to alert others to upcoming volunteer opportunites, aid in recruiting volunteers for particular events/organizations, and connect members with overlapping volunteering interests- To facilitate volunteering of MARS members in order to improve the overall sense of community within the club- To improve the community at large through increased local volunteering

Life is a comedy for those who think... and a tragedy for those who feel.
~Horace Walpole

Hi all,I volunteer at the zoo once in a while so I get the zoo volunteering updates. Here is the update from February:

Volunteer Positions Available for 2013

Zoology Exhibit Assistant. Starting Memorial Day weekend, we will be opening up a special UW Zoology Museum travelling exhibit in the Visitor Center called “North American Mammals: A Journey Through Time.” We’re looking for volunteers to help staff the exhibit, greeting visitors and helping to answer questions about the artifacts and information included. Volunteers will be asked to attend a Face of the Zoo training and also go through an additional training specific to the information in the exhibit.

Animal Ambassadors – Zoo animal ambassadors work directly with our Education Animals, presenting them to the public through our bleacher programs and at “Meet & Greets” at the Zoo and out in the community. Volunteers must be at least 18, have at least one year beyond training to commit to volunteering, and be available to volunteer at least one day per week. Space is extremely limited for the two additional training sessions being offered for the 2013 season.

Just in case you’re interested in expanding your horizons beyond the Zoo…Pontoon Boat Drivers and First Mate Volunteers Needed! Madison School & Community Recreation operates a pontoon boat rental program to the general public and needs drivers and first mates to help people enjoy our beautiful lakes around Madison. Volunteers usually work a 4-hour shift once per week and can help in the mornings, afternoons or evenings, on any day of the week. Training is provided. Experience in boating preferred but not required. Call MSCR at 204-3020.

2013 Dates to RememberRock ‘N Roar Benefit Dance - July 27thZoo Run Run – September 29thHalloween at the Zoo – October 27th

If you are interested in volunteering for anything at the zoo, please contact Lynn Pawelski at lynn@vilaszoo.org

Life is a comedy for those who think... and a tragedy for those who feel.
~Horace Walpole

Upcoming Special Volunteer NeedsAs we prepare to open the Zoology Exhibit, we’ll have some wonderful posters to distribute around town. If you are available to go around to area businesses and gathering places to ask whether they would be willing to put up a poster, let me know. I’ll get you posters and a list of businesses/types of businesses within an area that works well for you.

Volunteer Positions Available for 2013 -

NEW This Year!!Zoology Exhibit Assistant. Memorial Day Saturday-Labor Day, we will host a special UW Zoology Museum travelling exhibit in the Visitor Center called “North American Mammals: A Journey Through Time.” We’re looking for volunteers to help staff the exhibit, greeting visitors and helping to answer questions about the artifacts and information included. Volunteers will need to attend a Face of the Zoo training and also go through an additional training specific to the information in the exhibit. Shifts will be 9:45-12:15, 12-2:30, and 2:15-4:45 daily. Training dates are set, so please let me know if you’re interested and I’ll get you the schedule of upcoming training dates.

Discovery Docent/Exploration Station Docent. (Open to volunteers of all ages. Must be at least 13 to volunteer alone. Younger volunteers must volunteer with an adult). The Education Department has started offering sessions for new Discovery Docent and Exploration Station volunteers. You may have seen the artifact carts out and about around the Zoo (Big Cats, Polar Bear, Reptiles & Amphibians, and the Bird cart were the ones that were active last year). We also have discovery kits that volunteers take out to the Zoo grounds to get kids actively learning more about animals and the traits. The training will cover both positions, which allow maximum scheduling flexibility for volunteers. Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll get you the schedule of upcoming training dates.

Train/Carousel Volunteer. We’re still looking for a couple more Train/Carousel volunteers to round out our roster. Our current regular schedule openings are: Tuesday afternoon (New opening) and every-other Sunday morning. There are generally needs for volunteers to fill-in for volunteers who are on vacation, etc. If you love kids, can handle a busy environment, and would like to be part of the train & carousel team, please let me know and we’ll get you set up for a training session.

Midwest Paddle Festival – Saturday July 13th at Bishops Bay Country Club. We are still looking for a few more volunteers to help at this annual event that benefits both the Zoo and the UW Children’s Hospital. All are active jobs – it could be hot, so you should be ready to be outside in the heat. Volunteers will receive a t-shirt. Morning volunteers will get coffee and water will be served all day. There will be a volunteer coordinator there to work with everyone and be sure you have what you need. Anyone volunteering at least 4 hours will receive lunch. Please let me know if you are available to help as:Greeter/Parking Director - 7:00-9:30 or 9:15-11:45Life Jacket Steward – 9:30-11:30Clean Up – 3-5pm

Volunteer Positions Available for 2013 – We could still use volunteers to help in a few key areas:Zoology Exhibit has weekly shifts available Tuesday mornings 9:30-12:00, Thursdays 2:00-4:30pm, and Sundays 11:45-2:15. Training sessions are available either Saturday, June 29th at 11:00 am or Tuesday, July 2nd at 4pm. Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll get you all of the details. Train & Carousel has openings for Thursday afternoons (1:00-4:30), every-other Sunday morning (9:30-1:00) and Sunday afternoon. If you’re interested, let me know and we’ll set up a time to get you trained.Face of the Zoo has a few shifts available that are sprinkled throughout the weekdays, primarily Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays later in the day. These are 2 hour shifts. If you’re interested, let me know and we’ll set up a time to get you trained.

If interested, contact Lynn @ Friends of the Zoo608.258.9490

Life is a comedy for those who think... and a tragedy for those who feel.
~Horace Walpole

Family Day at the Zoo – Weds, July 16th. We could still use a few volunteers to help out 8:45-2:00 to lead one of the kids’ activities – all of them focus on helping kids explore what it might be like to be a zookeeper. Let me know if you’re available. Event details: https://www.vilaszoo.org/events/index.p ... ry_id=5285

Strings and the Wild Things – July 18th. We have pretty much all of the volunteer staff in place, but could still use help distributing posters and getting people to the concert. So far, we’ve sold about 200 tickets, but would love to get more people there. I’ve attached a .pdf file of the event poster – please distribute it widely to friends, family, co-workers and neighbors. We also have some larger size posters that still need to go out – please just stop by the office to pick some up if you know of a great place to post one.

Zoo Run Run – I’ll be in touch with last year’s event volunteers soon to see if you’d like to come back, but feel free to be in touch now if you want to reserve your place. In the meantime, we will need help distributing posters likely during the final week of July and/or first week of August. Please email me or call the office if you can assist.

Zoo Night at the Mallards – Fri, August 1st. Gates open at 6:00, game starts at 7:05. We are hoping to have a strong showing from Zoo fans at the August 1st Mallards game. Tickets are available ($15 each) by calling our office (258-9490) or online at http://www.vilaszoo.org but the deadline is coming up soon!

We’re also looking for a few volunteers to help out. Volunteers will need to have a ticket. Let me know if you can help out in either of these roles:Greeting at gate and handing out packs of trading cards50/50 raffle ticket sales (through 6th inning) – the more volunteers the better!

Corporate Nights – We could use a bit more help for a few of our Corporate Night events. See individual roles for openings. In addition, we need general event help (greeting at gates, roaming, etc) on:Thursday, July 10th – 5:15-9:00pmSunday, July 27th – 5:15-9:00pm or 6:30-10:00pm

Henry AppearancesFri, July 18th – Strings and the Wild Things. 5:30-7:00pmSat, November 9th – a paid gig for Henry at a birthday party in Cross Plains in the afternoon – 1:30-3:30 or 2:30-4:30Sat, August 9th – Findorff Corporate Night. 5:30-7:30pmSat, August 16th – JP Cullen Corporate Night. 5:30-7:30pm